


Artificial Intelligence

by DeadlyInRed, ThatMasterOnline



Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-29
Updated: 2017-06-01
Packaged: 2018-11-06 06:30:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11030571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeadlyInRed/pseuds/DeadlyInRed, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatMasterOnline/pseuds/ThatMasterOnline
Summary: Alois, a lonely boy, creates a computer program designed to be the idea companion. For Alois, the ideal companion is someone he can fall in love with.





	1. The CIEL System

“Starting… Created Intelligent Essential Lover system is online. Start date, March twenty-fourth, 2463. Directive: become ‘true love’ for master. Personality subroutines loading… Voice characteristics and speech patterns loading… Complete. System startup, complete. Good morning, master. I am CIEL. You may access and modify my subroutines through the use of vocal commands. You have programmed me with real time adaptation, to be able to serve you better. How may I assist you?”

That was the day that the Created Intelligent Essential Lover system, nicknamed CIEL, first came online. Its’ purpose: to be the first and only interactive companion tool, capable of adapting any personality to become the perfect companion for the creator.  
“I await your direction, master. How may I provide companionship today?”

When hearing the voice of his creation for the first time Alois had to take a moment to take it all in. He had worked very hard for quite a long time on this project. Rarely leaving his apartment to complete it and finally all his hard work has something to show for. 

Alois was a very lonely boy. He had a very social nature but never many friends. To him the only clear solution was to create his own companion who couldn’t abandon him and leave him alone. 

“Hello Ciel.” He began, patting a seat on his bed beside him. “Come sit beside me.”  
Alois was so overcome with joy, he just wanted to see how his new companion looked up close.

“Hello. I accept your offer to come sit beside you.” Ciel began to walk slowly towards the bed, turning and sitting in an upright position next to Alois.

“Is this seating distance to your satisfaction, master?” Ciel’s one goal was to please his master in every way possible. Right now, with his basic programming, he didn’t know how to do that. He would learn, though, in order to become the best possible companion for his master. That was his one goal, and he would not rest until he had reached it. Even then, he had been programmed never to leave. He would stay with his master, forever. There was no other way. His programming would not allow it.

Alois had the biggest smile on his face he think he’d ever had in his life. He was so overcome with joy. His creation functioned well enough for now, it wasn’t entirely to his liking but he knew the program would evolve. 

“Yes Ciel this is a perfect distance…” His voice trailed off due to his focus leaving speech and moving on to the intricate workings of the head. 

“Ciel I’m going to list out a few commands that I would like you to do okay? Blink, look to each side as well as up and down. I want to check how your eyes function.”

“I am glad. I will record this distance for future requests to sit.”

Ciel blinked a few times in rapid succession, then looked left and right and up and down as well, though a little closer to a regular, human speed.

“Ocular mobility is within acceptable parameters. Ocular function and input are also within acceptable parameters. Would you like to run a full diagnostic to ensure all systems are operating within proper mobility parameters? Is there a system in particular which concerns you? I am capable of self-diagnostic and repair, should the need arise. Of course, you are free to repair my program yourself to ensure optimum satisfaction.”

Alois quickly grabbed his notebook and jotted down a few things about how well overall the AI seemed to be working, until it hit him. Ciel had already began adjusting to his new body and acting more like a living person. 

“No nothing in specific. I’m just adding more information to the notes I have written in my book. Now is the best time to write them because you’re officially moving and speaking on your own.”  
The blond boy finished scribbling down whatever it was before bringing his eyes up from the book to meet with Ciels. 

“Hmm… Can you please outstretch your arms in front of you and then wiggle your fingers? After this the final test will be your walking.” 

He waited impatiently for the AI to preform the actions, his face lit up into a bright smile reaching across all his features.

“Of course. My program is now fully functional.” Ciel reached his arms out in front of him, wiggling all his fingers save for one.

“…Error. Right hand thumb unresponsive. Scanning… Complete. Faulty connection. Attempting to correct the problem.” Ciel then pulled off the right thumb, exposing the wiring beneath. With a little bit of fiddling, Ciel’s hand gave a slight jolt.

“Connection re-established. Repeating test.” Ciel reached his hands out in front of him, and all ten fingers wiggles this time.

“Complete. The error has been resolved. Would you like to test my walking now?”

Alois was so proud of this new program he had made himself. He bit his lip and nodded excitedly, jotting down a few quick words here and there. 

“Yes! Come now, let’s walk into the livingroom and then test your running as well! I just want to see you do everything!!” He giggled with such enthusiasm, he didn’t think he was capable of such excitement.  
Alois jumped up from the bed with his notebook and pen and motioned towards the hallway.

“Of course, master. Whatever pleases you.” Ciel walked with Alois, falling behind since his movements were a little stiff.

“Joints and moving parts functional, but operating below idea standards. CIEL system cannot accurately imitate human movement. Diagnostic or repairs recommended, but not necessary. Possible material update required.” Ciel made it to the living room, his eyes scanning the area.

“This space appears adequate for running. Based on the lacklustre performance while walking, projections indicate running would be ineffective. Would you like me to continue anyway?”

Alois recorded everything yet again in his book. 

“No, running won’t be needed right now. Right now, let’s figure out how to adjust your walking to be more smooth and natural.” 

Alois paced back and forth thinking of what should be done. “Well Ciel do you have any ideas for what we could do to help you walk better? I could relace and rewire your legs if it came down to it.” 

He moved towards the bot and sat cross-legged at it’s feet. “Stay still. I want to take a closer look.” As he sat there he made several mental notes before deciding he wouldn’t remember so he wrote them down. 

“This may require my tools to fix… ”

"Suggestion: Rounded joints for smoother bending of the arms and legs. Rounded tops of legs for smoother movement in the hip area. A study of human anatomy may provide clues as to what my body may lack that inhibits free movement. I was not programmed with this information readily available. I am sorry, master." Ciel froze when Alois told him to, staying unnaturally still to allow the inspection.

"You are implying that you would like to correct the problem yourself. Shall I move to the workbench so that you may work more easily? If you wish, I can deactivate myself so that you may work at your own leisure. This will also provide ample time to charge my power core, which currently sits at fifty percent. Is this course of action suitable?"

“Yes I think that would be best. You go to the work bench and I will go grab my tools. I will be right back.” 

Alois stood and hugged the AI before leaving the room to grab his tool box and a set of safety goggles. Upon returning to his work bench he was caught slightly off guard. Sure he had seen the Ciel unit powered off before, he was the one who built him to begin with, just something just seemed different. Ciel looked more human like this time in his facial features. He seemed as if he was simply taking a nap.

Alois shook the thought out of his head and set his tools down. He first disconnected the legs and then the arms. He pulled apart the joints and examined them closer. “I don’t know why I thought these would work… ” he mumbled under his breath. 

A few hours later he was finally putting the limbs back together, now with rounded joints that replicate those of dolls. He then looked at the boys waist and noticed a very similar problem. He then did the same for his waist with a bit of extra tinkering. 

Now the day light had been gone for some time, Alois sat back and sighed Wiping the sweat off his face he leaned over and powered on the bot laying in front of him.

Ciel went to the work bench and laid down.

“Deactivating.” His eyes closed and he became motionless, though his power core took advantage of the time to begin charging. He didn’t move until Alois had reactivated him.


	2. A few updates

“Starting… complete. Running diagnostic… complete. New parts have been added. Integrating them into main system… complete. Repairs completed. Power core is now at one hundred percent. The current time is ten fifty-three pm. Time deactivated: approximately nine hours. Thank you for the update, master.” He then looked over at Alois.

“Your body is showing signs of fatigue, master. I suspect this may be due to long hours operating on my program. Projections indicate you will now need to rest in order to recharge. Suggestion: Further tests should wait until you are well rested and fully operational again.”

Alois yawned and chuckled tiredly, giving a slight nod. 

“Yes… I suppose I’m getting tired. I haven’t eaten anything all day yet since before I got back to working on you. I should eat something.”

Alois stretched his limbs and stood before walking to the kitchen. Once there he got himself a glass of water and a snack.

“I’m going to eat just a little bit since I’m going to sleep soon.” He then began to giggle. “I guess it feels like my batteries are running low.” 

With a tired smirk he walked to the kitchen table and sat ready to eat, devouring his food almost instantly.

Ciel followed Alois to the kitchen table.  
“Body parts are now functioning above expected output. Overall movement is more fluid. Thank you, master.” As he watched Alois eat, Ciel was aware that Alois’s current state was, in a way, his fault. He’d spent all day working on him, and neglected to eat or sleep. He didn’t want that to happen again.

“…Master. In consideration of your health, it may be beneficial for future repairs to be broken down into blocks of no more than two hours, to provide ample time for you to rest and eat. My power core can stock up to twenty times it’s full output capacity, so it is no great concern if I were to be deactivated for long periods of time. If the power core becomes full, I will cease charging automatically. There is no rush to complete repairs. Please do not damage yourself for my sake.”

Hearing Ciel take the responsibility for Alois not eating anything all day struck something in Alois. He felt the urge to explain to Ciel everything about why he was built and why he couldn’t let Ciel be deactivated for too long. 

“Ciel… I appreciate your concern, but I wouldn’t be able to do that. I built you as my companion, so I didn’t have to be alone anymore. I… I couldn’t leave you that long… Not now that I don’t have to be alone.. ”

He looked down and felt a pain in his chest remembering what it felt like to be completely alone.

Ciel blinked.

“I understand. You do not wish for me to be deactivated now that I am active. I will recharge while you are recharging, and you need only reactivate me once you are rested. Will that be satisfactory, master?” Ciel now understood why he had been built with a power core capable of retaining so much power. He would need that much power if he would be active for many hours on end. He would orient his recharging schedule around his master’s sleep schedule, if he wanted.

“I was built to be the ideal companion for you. I will not leave your side. Now, you need to rest. I will stay with you while you sleep, if you would prefer it.”

 

Alois nodded and took a few sips of his water. 

“Yes Ciel that would be perfect. Thank you.” He finished off his water and stood, putting his cup and plate away into the dishwasher. 

“I’m just going to get dressed for bed. I’ll be right back okay Ciel? You’re free to do whatever you wish, this is your house as well.” 

Alois smiled and walked into his room, shutting the door and changing quickly.

Ciel blinked, but Alois was gone before he could ask his question. He was a robot. He wasn’t programmed with wishes or desires. He didn’t know what to do while Alois was away. When he returned, Ciel was standing exactly where Alois had left him, looking slightly perplexed in his own way.

“Alois. Will you be heading to bed now?” Now that Alois was back, Ciel walked towards him, almost following him. Ciel didn’t like being left idle, it bothered him to not have something to do. 

“Suggestion: Program me with wishes that I may do when I am commanded to do whatever I wish. I currently have not been programmed with likes or hobbies.”

Alois had just gotten the realisation that Ciel was not capable of wishes or desires just as he had gotten out of his room. He immediately ran over and hugged Ciel tightly with a smile. 

“I apologise Ciel! Um let’s see…what should your hobbies be…” He thought to himself out loud.

“Your hobbies will include board games, especially the high strategy based ones. How does that sound to you? I will include more hobbies as I see fit. As for going to bed, yes I will be but I’m not going to sleep just yet. Only laying down.”  
He considered whether or not he should invite the bot to stay in his bed or not. Alois hated sleeping alone in an empty bed. 

“Come with me Ciel.” He stated and began walking back towards his room. 

“Strategy-based board games,” Ciel repeated, “Items in that category include chess and checkers, western chess being most prominent, but Chinese Checkers involving more strategy, Risk, a fantasy game depicting world domination, and Clue, a typical murder mystery board game which involves using deductive reasoning to be the first player to correctly guess the location, murderer, and murder weapon. I will update my database and use your computer to collect knowledge on these subjects at my first opportunity. Thank you, Master.”

Ciel followed Alois to his room, remembering the room where he had first been activated.

“This is your bed,” Ciel stated, “Would you like me to sit beside you, as before, or something different. You have stated your intention to lie down, which is conducive for sleeping. Would you like me to lie down beside you?”

Alois was relieved that he didn’t have to awkwardly ask the bot to sleep beside him out of fear of being alone. 

“Yes Ciel that would be lovely if you could lay down beside me.” He replied as he sat on his bed and fluffed up his pillow before setting it back down. 

“I will now be referring to your power down stage as sleeping since it is your equivalent of that.”

The blond let out a yawn and stretched, suddenly being hit with exhaustion. Laying down on his side he pat the bed beside him waiting for the AI to lay beside him. Once Ciel laid down Alois snuggled up to him. Alois had to admit to himself that it was somewhat embarrassing that he had to build himself a companion and that he was in fact snuggling with said companion. Overall however he was very proud in himself for having built such a successful artificial intelligence.

“Sleeping…” Ciel mused, laying down beside Alois, “Very well. I shall sleep next to you whenever you desire.” When Alois cuddled into him, he didn’t know what to do, so he simply mimicked Alois’s actions, wrapping his arms around him.

“Is this acceptable, master?” Ciel asked for the umpteenth time. That was how he learned, after all. Alois’s constant feedback was able to shape him into something more than just wires and programming, at least in Alois’s mind. And that was all that mattered. Still, his mind was drawn back to strategy games, and how fascinating they were.

“Tomorrow, I…look forward…to learning about strategy games. I think I will be quite adept at them.” It was the first time Ciel had made conversation without asking for a directive or approval, and it was the first time Ciel had expressed an emotion. He was already growing rapidly. Soon, the only thing that would tip people off to the fact that he was an AI was his body.

Alois nodded sleepily and smiled snuggling closer. “This is perfect Ciel. This is exactly what I wanted you to do.”  
The blond was nearly asleep when his thoughts reviewed his whole day. The last thing Ciel had said kept running through his head. He was becoming more and more human like as the minutes went on.   
“Goodnight Ciel… I’ll power you on once I wake up.”

The AI was developing faster by the minute and Alois was so thrilled with the results. This built companion was far better than he could have hoped for. Alois lay still for a few short moments still processing everything that happened before finally falling asleep. The last thing he heard was the gentle sound of the bot beside him powering down.


End file.
